FARMERS' insurance group FBD yesterday said it would "certainly" look at buying parts of Quinn Insurance if it thought a deal could "enhance shareholder value".

It came as FBD told its annual general meeting that it had just achieved its first quarterly revenue growth since 2007 on foot of premium rises.

The growth was achieved in the quarter to March 31 -- before Quinn Insurance went into administration.

FBD boss Andrew Langford said it had seen "nothing very dramatic" in terms of growth since Quinn Insurance's administrators were appointed.

Asked about the prospect of buying some or all of Quinn Insurance, Mr Langford stressed that it was a "complex situation" which involved the livelihoods of a "lot of people".

"We do have an obligation to look at any opportunity that we believe would enhance shareholder value and if we thought there was something in Quinn that could do that, we'd certainly look at it," he said.

He hinted, however, that FBD would be unlikely to buy Quinn's health insurance business. "We'd like to see a bit more clarity about the rules that will apply in that market," he said, referring to court proceedings on risk sharing in the market.